Senior Health Specialist, P-5 Health Section, Programme Group (outposted to Nairobi, Kenya)

Contract

This is a P-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 208,877 USD and 261,770 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, Health and Well-Being

UNICEF crystallized and has clearly articulated its key priorities for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) era in its Strategy for Health, 2016-2030. The UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy also underwrites a forward-looking approach to child health in the SDG era, and the Operational Framework for this Strategy should inform the planned implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programme activities in the forthcoming period. The Global Conference on Primary Health Care in Astana, recommitted to strengthening primary health care (PHC) as the most inclusive, effective and efficient approach to enhance people’s physical and mental health, as well as social well-being, and that PHC is a cornerstone of a sustainable health system for universal health coverage (UHC) and health-related SDGs. These agreements and developments at global level serve to guide UNICEF’s health programmes at country, regional and global level.

The global health programme team provides overall technical guidance, partnership development and oversight to UNICEF’s health programme comprising of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, HIV and AIDS, Immunization and public health emergencies. The Office of the Director, Health is supported by the Planning and Partnerships team and cross-cutting programmes.

How can you make a difference?

Under the overall guidance of the Senior Adviser (Health) in the Unit for Digital Health & Information Systems, the Senior Health Specialist is responsible for operationalization and management of the Digital Health Centre of Excellence (DICE), as well as serving as the lead for Regional and Country facing technical assistance for digital health. UNICEF’s Strategic Plan (2022-2025) includes Digital Transformation and Innovation as priority Change Strategies, which will require sustained efforts to integrate within regional and country health programmes, build needed technical capacity, and realign technical assistance with country requests. This includes field facing, programme guidance on the use of mature Digital Public Goods (DPGs), Frontier Health Technology and Digital Health Innovations. These contributions to primary health care and health system strengthening support the acceleration of achievement of health-related SDGs, including supporting the Senior Adviser in operationalizing the digital health approach and roadmap across UNICEF.

Support to office priority setting and decision making

1. Operationalization and Coordination of the Digital Health Centre of Excellence (DiCE)

Supports the establishment and operationalization of the DICE, a joint UN mechanism for providing field facing coordination, technical assistance and quality assurance for digital health to country programmes. Responsible for DICE governance, coordination of support across DICE Consortium members, knowledge management, partnerships, resource mobilization, and operations. Manages a DICE team of 1-2 TAs, 3-5 consultants, and 2-4 secondments from other organizations. Manages DICE support to UNICEF and WHO Regional and Country Offices, Consortium Members and Government Counterparts, including coordinating technical assistance for national readiness assessments, business requirement development and platform assessments. Coordinates internal DICE engagement with the ICTD Digital Centre of Excellence (DCOE) and the Office of Innovation’s (OOI) Health Innovation Hub, as well as DICE’s relationship with WHO’s Department of Digital Health.

2. Technical guidance across UNICEF’s Digital Health Portfolio

Provides leadership and technical guidance to integrating the Strategic Plan’s Digital Transformation and Innovation Change Strategies into Regional and Country health programmes, and on field facing Digital Public Goods (DPGs) and Digital Health Innovations. Responsible for monitoring regional and country digital health initiatives, providing technical assistance to the deployment of UNICEF digital health guidelines, frameworks and toolkits, and coordinating regional and country office engagement with priority UNICEF Health DPG Partners and Communities of Practice (CoP). Aggregates demand from regional and country priorities for frontier technology and digital innovations, and supports field-facing engagement with the DCOE and OOI’s Health Innovation Hub.

3. Contribute to Consortium Building, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization

Coordinates field facing inputs to PD Health, DCOE and Health Innovation Hub to create new or engage in existing consortiums, identifies and provides thought leadership to strategic digital health partnerships, provides guidance on incorporating and mainstreaming digital within health proposals, monitors the overall planning, disbursement and utilization of project funds, prepares and submits, submits timely progress/status reports for management, board, donors, budget reviews, programme monitoring and evaluation, annual reports and provides technical assistance to Regional and Country Offices with similar engagements.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• An advanced university degree (Master's or higher) is required in public health, social sciences, international development, or a related field.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant professional work experience in a senior capacity supporting digital health and health systems strengthening programmes.
• Experience supporting the development and operationalization of national eHealth Strategies, Policies and Health Sector Development Plans.
• Experience in consortium building, partnerships and resource mobilization with key UNICEF health partners, donors, private sector and national governments.
• Experience leading country readiness assessments (ie GDHI, EIR, EDIT, DPPA, etc), developing business requirements, and conducting digital health platform assessments
• Experience across multiple Health Information Systems (HIS), including at least three or more areas including: Health Management Information Systems (HMIS), Human Resource Information
• Experience with Digital Publics Goods (DPGs) and open-source technologies, including engagement with relevant Communities of Practice and at least three UNICEF priority platforms (CommCare, DHIS2, iHRIS, mHero, OpenMRS, OpenLMS, OpenSRP, RapidPro, etc).
• Experience supporting digital health programmes, including at the field level, in L3 emergencies.
• Experience contributing to WHO recognized International Guidelines, Normative Standards and Toolkits for Digital Health is preferred.
• Experience with UN agencies is preferred.
• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) or a local language is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

To view our competency framework, please click here. To view UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA), please click here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

This position will be outposted to Nairobi, Kenya, with the possibility of remote work.

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.